


The Only Thing I've Ever Had Any Faith In

by deandratb



Series: The Best of the Best and the Worst of the Worst [4]
Category: The Doctor Blake Mysteries
Genre: Alternate Universe - World War II, F/F, F/M, unrelated pieces of different stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 01:31:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15719151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deandratb/pseuds/deandratb
Summary: Unfinished stories from The Doctor Blake Mysteries that may or may not be pulled out of this collection and completed someday. Read at your own risk; I just needed them to have a more-organized home.





	1. When Love Became An Act of Defiance

**Author's Note:**

> These are INCOMPLETE stories. These scenes have been sitting in my drafts waiting for me to finish them, and have not been betaed, so please keep that in mind if you read.
> 
> You're welcome to give your opinion and I don't mind if you ask me to return to working on the ones you like--just be aware that I might never do so. :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of Churchill's most cunning female spies meets a charming soldier who's awaiting deployment, and they try to walk the line between duty and desire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By far my most popular AU for Matthew and Alice, it's also the trickiest to write because it requires so much research--WWII is not my era even for American history, let alone Australian or British. I still think it will be an amazing story someday, but this is all that exists of it so far.

****

The year is 1940.

Seeking a way to utilize her unusual abilities, Australian expatriate Alice Harvey accepts a position with the SOE, an espionage organization based in Britain. She becomes one of thousands of female agents engaging in sabotage and reconnaissance against Axis powers, her identity and position within “Churchill’s Secret Army” a closely guarded secret.

An early volunteer for the Second Australian Imperial Force, Matthew Lawson is biding his time in the UK awaiting possible German invasion. While he helps the 18th Brigade bolster the British garrison, he learns of a planned transfer to Libya.

Spending an evening in a busy nightclub with his Army buddies, Lawson spots the striking Agent Harvey. Her sharp mind intrigues him, though he is wary of her dangerous skills.

Matthew’s noble, adventurous charm is difficult for Alice to resist, while unfolding events demand that she focus on her work and avoid any notion of romance.

Lucien Blake, her most trusted Army contact, is becoming ever more erratic as he seeks word of his missing wife and child. Jean Beazley, the widow managing the boarding house where she lives between assignments, is growing suspicious of her frequent absences. And her young protege, SOE trainee Mattie O’Brien, is engaged in a worrisome affair with a local officer.

Will Matthew get to know the woman behind her carefully crafted persona, before he ships off to the Middle East?

Will Mattie learn to put her training first, even as she watches her mentor torn between duty and her own feelings?

Will introducing Blake to Jean help them both find solace in the midst of tragedy?

Or will Alice’s work with the SOE put everyone she cares about in danger?

****

Alice Harvey was raised in a perfectly unexceptional family, where she never felt quite at home. Her interests and skills were not considered proper or appropriate for a ‘young lady’…so Alice decided on her sixteenth birthday that she simply wasn’t going to be one, and that was that. She vanished at seventeen with forged identification and ran wild across Europe, learning and experiencing all she could before the war began.

Matthew Lawson idolized his older brother, who died at twenty when Matthew was not yet grown. It was his example as well as a sense of wanderlust that convinced Matthew to volunteer for one of the very first Australian brigades. With invasion still far from England when he arrived, his assignment in London left him with plenty of time to explore the city and dance the night away with pretty European women.

By the time Matthew spots Alice across the dance floor, she’s developed a reputation for chilly precision in both work and romance. His mates who’ve heard stories of Churchill’s Army tell him not to bother, they warn him he doesn’t stand a chance. It only piques his interest.

A. Harvey, the mysterious spy who’s made herself a legend with her brains and hard work, finds herself distracted by the soldier with the familiar drawl to his words and bright, knowing eyes. For the first time in years, she’s tempted to tell him her name, and so much more.

Matthew Lawson, worlds away from home and itching for adventure, gets more than he bargained for when he chases an enigma who keeps a pistol in her purse and a switchblade in her garter. Their nights together are thunderstorms, bursts of powerful flashing heat.

But when love comes, it hits like lightning–unexpected, inexplicable, unstoppable. It quakes Alice’s perfectly constructed facade to the foundation, and it tugs at Matthew’s carefully guarded heart. When his transfer orders come, they have to decide what matters most, love or country–or risk it all to try and fight for both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title borrowed from "June" by Florence and the Machine.


	2. Looking For A Breath Of Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drowning in grief after the loss of his wife and daughter, Lucien is prepared to end his pain--until he's saved by a beautiful woman on the beach who is more than she seems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This strange mermaid AU idea was completely inspired by one specific photo of Nadine Garner. It was too fun not to play with a little.

 

“What are you doing?”

The curious voice stopped him where he stood, looking out at the water from the cliff’s edge. Lucien had been certain he was alone.

“Who’s there?”

“Are you going for a swim?”

He still couldn’t see who he was talking to. Given that he’d spent most of the day in a bottle, it was quite possible he was hallucinating.

“Of a sort, yes,” he replied after a moment.

“You’re dressed awfully nicely for a swim, aren’t you?”

After a glance behind him, he leaned dangerously closer to the drop, craning to see. “Where are you?”

“Down here,” replied the merry voice. “I’m already swimming. Are you going to join me?”

There was a note of warning sounding in his head that hadn’t been there when he’d walked up to the cliff, bottle in hand. Hearing voices, especially one as melodic and seductive as this, made him think of mythology–sirens and the like. It was never a good idea to tangle with an enchantress. Or to talk to yourself.

“If you’re real,” he said, raising his voice to carry down to the water, “show yourself.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?” His mysterious conversational partner sounded offended now. “Of course I’m real.” 

There was a splash, then a muttering tone heading towards him. "Silly man, drinking and planning a swim in his Sunday best, thinks I’m all in his head.”

He turned again, following the sound, and now he wasn’t the only one on the cliff. The woman approaching him was a vision, like nothing–nobody–he’d ever seen before. Her sun-kissed hair was damp and curling against her neck, glimmering with sea salt. She was clad in a green lace dress, cut unfashionably short and clinging close to her skin. As she walked, it caught the light, almost looking as though it were patterned with scales.

Dumbstruck, he continued to stare when she met him at the cliff’s edge.

“You see?” Her smile was gentle, if a little teasing. “I am, in fact, real.”

“Yes.” He shook himself out of his daze. “Yes, I suppose you are.”

Arms folded, she surveyed him more closely. His suit coat was slightly too big, as though he’d recently lost weight, and a rumpled open collar added to his disheveled air. “What are you doing, exactly?”

“Thinking.”

“Up here?”

“That’s right.”

“What have you been thinking about?”

His eyes were haunted when they met hers. “Horrible things.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title borrowed from "Breath of Life" by Florence and the Machine.


	3. Your Heart Is The Only Place That I Call Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean talks to Lucien about their future in the wake of his divorce filing becoming public knowledge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a response to the prompt, 'No, I don't need you.' I planned it as a very serious talk between Jean and Lucien where she tries to get through to him about what she needs from their relationship, while also reassuring him that she wants things to work. So my take on the prompt is along the lines of 'No, I don't need you. I'm not a young girl anymore; I could get on fine on my own. But I choose you, Lucien--bumps and all.'

_“I've been a bloody fool. And I understand, given everything I've put you through, if you've changed your mind. About us. About...about everything.”_

Jean left him standing in the hallway, unable to offer Lucien the absolution he needed--but just as unable to allow him to believe she was going anywhere. The kiss she pressed to his cheek took all she had to give.

They couldn’t go on this way. He couldn’t think that **this** would be their marriage.

Lucien lingered in the hallway for long minutes after she went to bed; she heard his slow, heavy footfalls retreat to his own room as she prepared for sleep.

And then she heard him crying.

Jean needed space. And time. She couldn’t just forgive him with a snap of her fingers as though the breach of trust wasn’t important. To her mind, the larger issue was one of not just trust, but respect. Partnership.

But as the muffled sound of Lucien’s despair creeped under her closed door, her mind was overruled by her heart.

He was so often reckless, and believed he knew best. Lucien Blake was not an easy man to love.

And yet.

Loving him was also effortless, something she had fallen into so quickly that she hadn’t questioned it. It simply was; an unexpected spark that flashed the moment they met, that warmed and grew deeper despite all the obstacles.

It would survive this. He needed to know that.

His tears made her worry that perhaps he didn’t.

As difficult as Lucien could be, he was hardest on himself. She knew that she could spend a lifetime telling him how much she loved him, and he would still be waiting for her to change her mind.

So she slipped out of her room, quietly clicking the door shut behind her, and went to him, clad in her robe and nightgown.

He needed to understand. He needed to learn to let her be his equal. But he didn’t need to suffer.

Jean knocked lightly on his door, waiting while she listened to the rustling sound of him rising from his bed.

When Lucien opened it, he’d clearly dried his eyes in a rush--the skin around them was raw and pink.

“Jean.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck, not sure what to say. There was nothing he could say, wasn’t that the point? He couldn’t fix this now. He could hope that she would forgive him...he could brace himself for the worst...but he’d already done the damage. No words would repair it.

“Lucien. May I come in?” Startled, he froze where his hand was resting against the doorframe. They were careful now, under certain circumstances. They followed unspoken rules that honored their boundaries and acknowledged lines they were both tempted to cross.

She didn’t come to his room late at night--and he didn’t go to hers.

_Was this it?_ He wondered. _Was this the end?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title borrowed from "Heartlines" by Florence and the Machine.


	4. Strangeness And Charm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New tenant A. Harvey is a scientist running experiments from within her apartment. J. Beazley is the aspiring actress living directly across the hall. Driving each other crazy in the way that only neighbors can, when they finally meet their tension transforms into something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a prompted fic for a neighbors AU. I decided to put it in a modern setting and make Jean a musical actress, because fun.

In her 38 years, Jean had never had a more obnoxious neighbor. 

The strange woman who lived across the hall came and went at all hours, played music at top volume before the sun was even up–and worst of all, there were constantly terrifying noises coming from her apartment. Explosions, the smoke alarm…Jean wasn’t sure what on earth A. Harvey was up in 12B, but it wreaked havoc with Jean’s early call times. She hated arriving on set with dark circles under her eyes.

At the first loud bang that rattled her front door at midnight, Jean had raced across the way, certain there was some sort of emergency. But her neighbor didn’t even answer the door, and the resulting silence convinced Jean she was better off minding her own business.

If only it were that simple, she thought ruefully when the music started playing the following week. She had always been a light sleeper, and if she wore earplugs she couldn’t guarantee her alarm would wake her. She tried knocking again, several times, to no avail. 

In a desperate moment, Jean even tried taping a note to the door across the way. “I work early in the morning,” she printed carefully, knowing her handwriting was nearly illegible when she was in a rush. “Please keep noise to a minimum. Thank you–12A.”

The following day she found a note taped to her own door. “I work from home,” it said in round, flowing cursive. “Sporadic noises are regrettably unavoidable. Regards, 12B.”

The next explosion woke her at 4am, and Jean wondered how anyone with such pretty penmanship could be the source of so many violent noises. She resigned herself to her growing resentment and invested in a white noise machine.

**** 

Alice had spent her entire adult life in apartment buildings, and she had never found any neighbor as maddening as J. Beazley in 12A.

The singing never stopped.

Trilling in the morning, when reasonable people were still getting much needed rest. Warbling at night, her voice carrying across the hall and interfering with Alice’s data.

She had hoped, once she explained that she worked from home, the relentless songbird would take the hint…but no such luck.

If anything, the singing only grew more emphatic.

Alice couldn’t deny that her neighbor had a lovely voice. If things were different, she might have even enjoyed the way it drifted under her door in the evenings, brightening her day.

But her experiments were too important to her. The noise was skewing her results, and that sort of interference was simply unforgivable.

So she altered her protocol to include the controlled application of music, and used that to drown the singing out.

****

Because Jean’s rehearsal times varied, and she grabbed as much sleep as she could get in between, it was two months before she even caught a glimpse of her new neighbor.

Whatever she was expecting, it wasn’t…her. 

The tall brunette had the kind of purposeful stride Jean associated with business executives or politicians, but there was an awkwardness in her manner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title borrowed from "Strangeness & Charm" by Florence and the Machine.


	5. We've Opened Our Eyes And It's Changing The View

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first Christmas Matthew and Alice spent together, invited by Jean and Lucien to the Blake home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A prompted story about their first Christmas together--that I got distracted from before I made it very far in.

Their first Christmas together was at the soon-to-be-Blakes’ house. 

Well, that wasn’t the one they technically counted, of course, it wasn’t first in the ways that mattered most…but it was their first. 

Lucien and Jean, clearly feeling sentimental that Christmas, had invited everyone they knew. Matthew was not sure why Alice had never spent Christmas with them before–he knew she had no family in Ballarat to speak of–but the way she smiled quietly to herself over the imposing medical tome that was her gift from Lucien made Lawson think that she had simply been waiting for an invitation.

He wondered how many Christmases she had spent alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title borrowed from "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful" by Florence and the Machine.


	6. Open Prompt Collection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A storage space for all the ideas I haven't begun writing yet but want to save for later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of these ideas are prompts I received via tumblr that I don't expect write anytime soon. If anything you see here inspires you to write something, please link me to it! I would love to know.

Jean x Alice, picnic

Lucien x Jean, in Rome

Lucien x Jean, high school teacher AU

Lucien x Jean, Jean is out with Lucien out on a case and they end up at a bar to find a person of interest; while Lucien is distracted someone attempts to get handsy with Jean

Matthew x Alice, Jean & Lucien's hen and stag night turn messy and Alice and Matthew wake up together the next morning

Matthew x Alice, first time

Matthew x Alice, first i love you

Matthew x Alice, first dinner date out in a public setting that isn't the Blake's house

Matthew x Alice, one of those stiflingly hot days that's been building all week and the rains are about to come pestering down

Matthew x Alice, morning after meeting in a bar

Matthew x Alice, “I said I’d never let you go”

Matthew x Alice, arguing over a board/card game during 'game night' at Lucien's house, or while they're stuck at the police station and have to pass the time 

Matthew x Alice, tipsy kiss

Matthew x Alice, I don’t have the words right now so here’s a kiss

Matthew x Alice, 'You nearly died' kiss with Alice being injured

Matthew x Alice, passionate kiss that ends in Alice being pushed up against a wall and them falling all over each other

Matthew x Alice, Valentine's Day

Matthew x Alice, Matthew interrupting a kiss and asking “I’m sorry are you sure we should-“ only to follow up with Alice kissing him more fiercely.

Matthew x Alice, Alice unexpectedly becomes pregnant and needs a lot of whispered midnight discussions with Matthew to work out how she feels about it, because she's never thought that would happen to her and is scared she hasn't got enough softness, gentleness to raise a child

Matthew x Alice, Matthew proposes Christmas Day

Matthew x Alice, Alice is suddenly thrown back into the trauma of her past and Matthew has to quietly stay by her side to bring her whiskey and back rubs every night when she turns up on his doorstep, just so she feels human again and loved.

Matthew x Alice, taking dirty jokes too far

Matthew x Alice, 'Oh no, there's only one bed!'

Matthew x Alice, falling in love with their best friend’s partner AU

Matthew x Alice, You've Got Mail AU

Matthew x Alice, No Reservations AU: “I have a sister,” Alice admits quietly. The smile on her face is slightly twisted, pain underneath the love. "Really?” Lucien lights up a little at the unexpected detail. His friend is such a private person, they rarely discuss her life before she began working with him in Ballarat. “Where is she?” Alice’s face falls. “I don’t know.”

**Author's Note:**

> Story title borrowed from "Grace" by Florence and the Machine.


End file.
